HONG KONG: US futures and Asian stocks rose yesterday as investor focus turned to upcoming data from the American labor market. Treasuries steadied after declining all week.

       Shares climbed in Hong Kong and South Korea but slipped in Japan.

       S&P 500 futures gained.

       The US benchmark closed little changed after a drop of almost 2% Wednesday that was sparked by Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting minutes that suggested the central bank is ready to raise rates sooner and higher than previously expected.

       Ten-year Treasury yields were steady around 1.72%, set for their biggest weekly jump since 2020.

       The dollar edged lower, while oil climbed to a seven-week high on supply constraints. The yen pared some of its overnight gains. Gold was little changed.

       Chinese stock market’s ugly start to 2022 has forced its securities regulator to assuage investors’ frayed nerves by pledging measures for stability.

       An overtly hawkish stance from the Fed has roiled financial markets at the start of a new year, with investors reassessing how to price assets in an environment of rising interest rates. The removal of crisis-era accommodation marks a shift not seen in at least three years, a time that also saw a spike in volatility.

       “We knew coming into 2022 that the Fed was going to be a creator of volatility within the market and we’re seeing that right out of the gate at the start of the year,” Lindsey Bell, chief markets and money strategist at Ally, said by phone.

       “The good news is that today things seem to be stabilising a little bit after yesterday’s knee-jerk reaction.”

       Comments by regional Fed presidents provided some additional insight Thursday as traders attempted to predict a possible schedule for tightening.

       St Louis Fed President James Bullard, a more hawkish policy maker, said in a speech the central bank could raise its target interest rate as soon as March.

       Meanwhile, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said at a virtual event that trimming the Fed balance sheet would come after normalising the Fed funds rate.

       Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research, urged investors to tread “very carefully” the next few days.

       “Markets are concerned that we’ve never seen the Fed both lift interest rates off zero and reduce the size of its balance sheet at the same time,” he wrote. — Bloomberg